CM Yediyurappa takes to Bengaluru streets to remind citizens to wear masks

Coronavirus

The Karnataka government had decided to mark June 18 as 'Mask day'.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa took to the streets of Bengaluru to carry out a march to raise awareness amongst the general public about the necessity to wear masks. The march that started from the BR Ambedkar statue in Vidhana Soudha, proceeded towards Cubbon park. Along with the Chief Minister, other officials such as BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar, Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey, cricketer Anil Kumble, and actors Ragini and Puneet Rajkumar also marched. The Chief Minister was seen distributing masks to passers by, and others held placards underlining the importance of wearing masks. Also present in the march were the Bengaluru police. The Bengaluru police and traffic police marched as the police band played Saare Jahan se Accha. Mask is the shield that protects you from the ambush of the pandemic. Wearing the mask gives us the edge over the virus. Karnataka is observing Thursday as #MaskDay to create awareness. Honourable Chief Minister Shri BS Yediyurappa and other Ministers were present at the event. pic.twitter.com/5QDpse5UMx — PANKAJ KUMAR PANDEY, IAS (@iaspankajpandey) June 18, 2020 The Karnataka government has decided to observe June 18 as 'Mask Day'. Similar marches are being carried out by authorities in all districts of the state. As cases in the city and state rise, the government felt that it was important that it teaches the public on the importance of wearing masks. Despite guidelines, awareness campaigns and rising number of patients, many refrain from wearing masks, or don't wear them properly. At one point, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), had said that they would fine people Ra 1000 for not wearing masks in public spaces. The Railways on Thursday distributed masks to passengers on the station, along with fruit juices. Mask is your personal safety weapon against #COVID19! State of Karnataka is observing "Mask Day" today on 18 th June.@drmsbc #India #IndianRailways #Karnataka #MaskDay #fightagainstcoronavirus #Bengaluru #CoronaWarriors #CautionYesPanicNo #StayHomeStaySafe pic.twitter.com/2pG1zbw04V — SouthWestern Railway (@SWRRLY) June 18, 2020 The Karnataka government through its communications department portals shared videos from the World Health Organisation on the proper use of masks, including how to store and clean fabric masks, as the use of disposable masks is not sustainable.

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Sita Bhateja hospital in Bengaluru’s Shantinagar to close its doors after 55 years

Health

Founded in 1965 as a nursing home for maternity care, the hospital is set to close its doors soon.

TNM Staff

Dr Sita Bhateja Specialty Hospital website

One of the first full fledged nursing homes and maternity care centres in Bengaluru, the Dr Sita Bhateja Specialty Hospital in Shanti Nagar, is shutting its doors. After 55 years of service, the hospital, which specialises in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, will close it’s in-patient services on June 30 and outpatient services on July 31.  However, denying rumours that the hospital is being shut due to financial losses, Managing Trustee and Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Arvind Bhateja said that the purpose of shutting down was because the third generation members of the family, have chosen other careers. He also said that the decision to shut operations was made one-and-a-half years ago.   “The hospital was always run by the family. The next generation within the family has chosen to pursue other fields unrelated to medicine. Hence, we have made the conscientious decision to move onto the next chapter. Although this announcement happens to coincide with the current COVID-19 crisis, it has nothing to do with it at all. Some unfortunate false rumours are being spread on social media stating that we are closing down to financial losses after the lockdown. This is totally untrue,” Dr Arvind Bhateja said in a statement.  The Dr Mrs Sita Bhateja’s Nursing Home Charitable Trust, which manages the hospital, however, will continue its charitable activities. Dr. Bhateja said that the trust’s “Giving Back” program, which provides medical assistance to the poor by raising funds, will continue. So far over 250 spine surgeries have been conducted under the programme, he said.  The hospital was opened in 1965 by Dr Sita Bhateja, a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It was only a nursing home to provide maternity care but was eventually expanded by Dr Sita’s son, Dr  Arvind Bhateja. In 2003, the hospital was renamed Dr Sita Bhateja Specialty Hospital after new services including neuro and spine surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, internal medicine, urology, plastic surgery and maxillofacial surgery, were added. With the hospital shutting down, the entire staff will now be moving to Sparsh Hospital located on Infantry Road.  “We are grateful and humbled to have played a significant role in the history of Bangalore (Bengaluru). We have been able to help thousands of patients and their families and we have always given it our all. This was the vision set out by my mother and we will continue to be of service to our community for years to come in other ways. The journey has only just begun,” Dr Arvind added.   

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MTB Nagaraj, ‘Pendulum’ Shankar make BJP list for Karnataka MLC polls

Politics

The high command, which had ignored the state unit’s suggestions for the Rajya Sabha elections, has now accommodateD CM BS Yediyurappa’s list of suggested candidates.

TNM Staff

The BJP on Wednesday night announced four candidates, who will contest the elections for the Karnataka Legislative Council Elections, slated to be held on June 25. The party has chosen former Hoskote MLA MTB Nagaraj, former Ranebennur MLA ‘Pendulum’ R Shankar, leader from Chincholi Sunil Vallyapure and Dakshina Kannada leader Pratap Simha Nayak as the candidates.  With 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP can nominate four members to the Council.  MTB Nagaraj, a former loyalist of Congress’ Siddaramaiah, had quit the party and joined BJP in May last year along with 16 other MLAs from Congress and JD(S). They were flown in via chartered aircraft and lodged at a hotel in Mumbai. These defections had ultimately brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. However, MTB Nagaraj, who contested the bye-elections to reclaim his Hoskote seat in December 2019, suffered a massive defeat against novice and former BJP Yuva Morcha Leader Sharat Bache Gowda, who contested as an independent. With the defeat, MTB Nagaraj lost out on his chance to become a minister.  R Shankar of the Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha had won the 2018 Assembly Elections in Ranebennur, and had initially offered his support to the Congress-JD(S) coalition. Within a day of making this decision, R Shankar decided to ally with the BJP after holding talks with BS Yediyurappa. Within a span of 24 hours, he was back to supporting the coalition, gaining him the moniker Pendulum.  Like Nagaraj, R Shankar had supported the BJP in bringing down the government with hopes of snagging a ministerial berth. However, he too lost the December 2019 bye-polls contesting as a BJP candidate. Both Nagaraj and Shankar are now hoping to join Yedidyurappa’s cabinet as MLCs.  The BJP accommodated Sunil Vallyapure, the leader from Chincholi, as he had stepped aside when the party offered the ticket to Dr Avinash Umesh Jadav, son of Kalaburagi MP Umesh Jadav. Umesh Jadav had defected from the Congress to the BJP in 2019 after resigning from his post as Chincholi MLA. Upon his defection, the BJP had offered a ticket to Avinash Jadav while sidelining Sunil Vallyapure. Sunil is a long-time leader from Chincholi and had won the 2008 Assembly Elections from the Chincholi constituency. A loyalist of BS Yediyurappa, Sunil had also quit the BJP and had followed Yeddiyurappa when he split from the BJP and had briefly formed his own party -- Karnataka Janata Paksha. Sunil had lost the 2013 Assembly Elections to Umesh Jadav after he contested on a KJP ticket in 2013. The high command, which had ignored the state unit’s suggestions for the Rajya Sabha elections, has now accommodateD CM BS Yediyurappa’s list of suggested candidates. While three of the four MLC candidates were handpicked by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, the high command also accommodated the demands of the party’s Karnataka President Nalin Kumar Katell and allowed BJP Dakshina Kannada district President Pratap Simha Nayak to be nominated to the Legislative Council. The party had to let go of two top contenders -- CP Yogeeshwar (former Channapatna MLA) and AH Vishwanath (former JD(S) MLA from Hunsur who defected to BJP and lost the December 2019 bye-polls).  CP Yogeeshwar, the former Channapatna MLA, was aspiring to become an MLC. A member of the RSS, Yogeeshwar was instrumental in holding talks with Congress and JD(S) rebels, and gaining their support to bring down the coalition government in June 2019. Sources in the BJP say that sidelining Yogeeshwar has left him unhappy and that he is currently in talks with Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar, with hopes of joining the Congress. Yogeeshwar was also one of the candidates referred by Nalin Kumar Kateel.  The infighting between BS Yediyurappa and Nalin Kumar Kateel is not new as both leaders have been trying to assert dominance within the state unit for quite some time. With MTB Nagaraj, R Shankar and Sunil Vallyapure bagging tickets to contest MLC elections, Yediyurappa had prevailed in the game of one-upmanship this time around.  

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'Silence of govt seditious, anti-people': Siddaramaiah slams PM over LAC faceoff

Politics

The Karnataka leader questioned PM Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for not giving any official statement on the face-off that killed 20 Indian soldiers.

TNM Staff

File photo

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for not giving any official statement about the developments unfolding on the India-China border. Siddaramaiah’s statements came after the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan valley in Ladakh, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. "It's almost seven weeks since the border dispute started with China. However, till now neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has given any official statement. The silence of the rulers is not only anti-people, but also seditious," Siddaramaiah tweeted. "It is the people of the country who have reposed their trust on the Central government. It is the responsibility of the government to take the people into confidence (sic)," Siddaramaiah tweeted. ಚೀನಾ ದೇಶ ಗಡಿತಂಟೆ ಶುರುಹಚ್ಚಿ ಏಳು ವಾರಗಳಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಬಂತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಳ ನಿಜಸಂಗತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ @narendramodi, @rajnathsingh ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ವರೆಗೆ ಅಧಿಕೃತ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಳುವವರ ಮೌನ ಜನದ್ರೋಹ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ದೇಶದ್ರೋಹವೂ ಹೌದು. 3/3#ChinaIndiaFaceoff — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 17, 2020 His comments drew a sharp response from Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, who claimed that India has not lost any land under the leadership of Modi or former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, despite the evidence. He added that it was not the government, but the country which fights against the enemy nation and that the dispensation was answerable to the people of the country. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Congress was always committed to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country. He stressed that the supreme sacrifice of the soldiers should not go waste and called upon people to pay tribute to the valorous soldiers who laid down their lives. He also appealed to the people to condemn China. Reacting to it, Union Minister Joshi tweeted, "It's in history under whose rule the country has lost its land, better study. Its only due to ignorance and foolishness under Congress rule that India lost its land to China. Instead of supporting Tibet, Congress encouraged China (sic).” “Under Vajpayee and Narendra Modi Ji India hasn’t lost any land. India stands protected. You should be mature enough to be with the country at this time, not with China (sic)," Joshi said in another tweet.  Instead of supporting Tibet, congress encouraged China. Under Vajpayee & @narendramodi ji India hasn’t lost any land. India stands protected You should be mature enough to be with the country at this time ,not with China — Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) June 17, 2020 With PTI inputs

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COVID-19: Karnataka to conduct random tests on slum dwellers, vendors, delivery boys

Coronavirus

Chief Minister Yediyurappa told PM Modi that the state was tackling coronavirus effectively by its tracing and testing efforts.

TNM Staff

PTI in New Delhi

The Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to conduct random testing on slum dwellers, vendors and bill collectors at markets, delivery and courier boys among others, aimed at effective surveillance following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. "In view of the recent increase of COVID 19 cases and to ensure effective surveillance, it is hereby directed that random testing using RT-PCR pooled sample technique be done for certain category of persons," the circular issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, (Health and Family Welfare Department) Jawaid Akhtar said. The category of people include slum dwellers, vendors or bill collectors in malls, supermarkets, markets and footpaths, and delivery boys of food chains and couriers, it said, adding that preference should be given to include persons above 50 years of age and those with co-morbidities. Those likely to come in contact with the maximum number of persons in markets and malls should be included in the sample as per the capacity of the districts, which should be inclusive of samples collected by routine testing as per protocols issued previously, the circular said. The Commissioner, BBMP (Bengaluru civic body) and Deputy Commissioners of districts, in consultation with the local expert committee, will identify the persons and locations from which random samples are to be collected, it added. On Wednesday, the COVID-19 death toll in Karnataka breached the 100 mark as the state reported eight new fatalities and 204 cases, taking the total number of infections to 7,734. However, the Chief Minister of Karnataka told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his video conference with all the chief ministers, that the state was tackling coronavirus well. The Chief Minister said the timely adoption of the 5T policy of trace, track, test, treat and technology helped the state fight the virus. Of the 7,734 positive cases registered across the state till Wednesday since March 10, the recovery rate has been above the national average of 51% to touch 4,804, while active cases remained at 2,824, with 102 deaths, as of June 17 evening. "We are ramping up the healthcare infrastructure to treat 2 lakh coronavirus infected patients from the present 1-lakh capacity. We have also set up 673 fever clinics across the state to test asymptomatic persons and contain the virus spread," Yediyurappa told Modi during the hour-long interaction. The state has also increased COVID-19 labs to 72 with a capacity to conduct 15,000 tests a day. "For every 10-lakh population, 7,500 tests are being conducted and results have shown that only 1.6 per cent of them (tests) were positive. The pandemic growth rate has been 3.6 per cent so far," Yediyurappa told the PM.   With inputs from agencies

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Men included in Bengaluru startup’s paid menstrual leave initiative

Gender

Male employees will be encouraged to take a day off to be with their wives, the startup said.

IANS

File photo

A new Bengaluru-based startup, Horses Stable, is offering paid leave to all of its menstruating women employees and also to men to support their spouses, an official said on Wednesday. "This initiative allows women to take two days paid leave and offers an allowance of Rs 250 to help ease through the stress during that time," said an official at the start-up. Not just women employees, male employees will also be given a day off to take care of and comfort their wives. The startup has stated that it has taken up this initiative to be a more gender-responsive organisation and called it 'Nay to Yay'. "There's no denial of the fact that women face severe pain and cramps during their menstrual cycle and for the female workforce it gets very arduous. The implementation of menstrual leave policy should not be termed as a gift. Our aim is to provide equal opportunities to the growth of both men and women," said Horses Productions co-founder Saloni Agarwal. According to Agarwal, the startup aims to inspire other bigger organisations to adopt such employee-friendly policies in a step towards gender inclusivity. "We are more than happy to implement this initiative in our company and by doing so we wish to inspire other organisations to adopt this policy as a step towards gender inclusivity. With this initiative, I hope to break the menstrual taboo," she said. Horses Stable will not count the two-day leave as sick leave. However, the startup did not reveal the number of employees working with it. "Since we are a startup we have a small team around 60 per cent are women and 40 per cent are men. Majority is women in our team," said an executive. The startup’s website said that the organisation was focused on media productions for other startups in order to make pitches to prospective investors.

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German national on Interpol's watch for criminal charges arrested in Bengaluru

Crime

Alexander Bruno Wehnelt was also found to be overstaying on an expired visa, police said.

IANS

File photo of Bengaluru police

The Karnataka police has arrested a German national wanted for kidnapping and causing bodily harm to a person in his home country, an official said on Wednesday. The person was also found to be overstaying on an expired visa, which police said that it appeared that the visa had been tampered with to look more current. "On receipt of credible information by the CID Interpol Division officers, the Red Corner Notice subject, the German national Alexander Bruno Wehnelt, was traced at Hulimangala village," a police official told IANS. Hulimangala is on the outskirts of Bengaluru city. Alexander, 55, escaped from Germany and took shelter in Bengaluru. The Interpol Division of CBI NCB (Central Bureau of Intelligence, Narcotics Control Bureau) in New Delhi had communicated to the Interpol liaison officer in Karnataka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) about Alexander, directing extensive search measures to trace the criminal at large. The Narcotics Control Bureau of Wiesbaden in Germany was on the hunt for Wehnelt for the crimes he committed in 2015, and have finally found him five years later. "A special team of officers was constituted by the CID - Interpol division under the supervision of ADGP (Additional Director General of Police) B. Dayananda and the Interpol liaison officer and efforts were made to trace the subject," said the official. On Monday, the police received credible information leading to his arrest. "It was learnt that his visa had expired in 2016 and he tried to show a visa which was issued in December 2019 which had expired on Saturday, June 13," said the official. Prima facie, it appeared that Alexander had tampered with his visa and the police are probing on that front as well. He was handed over to Hebbagodi Police Station in Bengaluru Urban, for his overstay and a criminal case has been registered against him, under the Foreigners Act.

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